US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday, the 8th of May, after a telephone conversation with the President of Ukraine, that he is proposing a 30-day unconditional ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war and threatened additional sanctions if the ceasefire is not respected, reports Politico.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that he would “remain committed” to peace between Ukraine and Russia, retreating from comments he and his administration made last month that stressed the US could pull out of the talks if progress was not made.
After Trump pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the beginning of his term, the Trump administration has recently stepped up pressure on Russia, as Trump loses patience after failing to end the war in the first 100 days as promised.
“THIS CEASEFIRE MUST ULTIMATELY LEAD TO A PEACE DEAL. THIS CAN ALL BE DONE VERY QUICKLY AND I WILL BE AVAILABLE ON A MOMENT’S NOTICE IF MY SERVICES ARE REQUIRED” TRAMP WROTE.
Trump indicated that both countries would be responsible for respecting the potential ceasefire, without naming Russia directly. “If the [30-day] ceasefire is not respected, the United States and its partners will impose further sanctions,” he wrote.
He added that talks on a “lasting peace” would continue with European leaders, as many Europeans have previously been worried about possible exclusion from the Ukraine talks.
On Wednesday, Vice-President Vance said Russia was “asking too much” to end the war and told a meeting of leaders in Munich that Russia had rejected calls for a 30-day ceasefire and that the US would seek a long-term solution.
Vance added that there was a “big gulf” between Russia and Ukraine and that the two sides would have to come to the negotiating table to actually reach an agreement.
After a bumpy start when Trump called Zelensyy a “dictator without an election” during an Oval Office meeting in February and jointly scolded him with Vance, the US and Ukraine signed an economic agreement last week – ratified by the Ukrainian parliament on Thursday – to tap Ukraine’s “rare earth resources” and create an investment fund to help Ukraine rebuild after the end of the war.
The agreement came after Trump and ZelenskYy met ahead of Pope Francis’ funeral ceremony at the Vatican.
Shortly after his meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump expressed his frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Truth Social, saying that he might not want to stop the war and was “tapping me in”.
Trump’s criticism also came at a time when Russia stepped up its ground offensive and attacked Kyiv with several missile strikes. Senior Russian officials, including Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, replied that they were ready to reach an agreement.
“Ukraine is ready for a full ceasefire, starting now, from now on – 30 days of silence,” Zelenskyy wrote on X. “A lasting and stable ceasefire will be a real indicator of progress towards peace.”
Ukraine’s foreign minister said on Thursday that Russia had repeatedly violated its own three-day ceasefire just hours after it began and called the initiative a “farce”, while Moscow said Kyiv had continued fighting.